United States Beef

From the last link below:

The CSFII results indicate that low-income consumers ate 72 pounds of beef yearly—more than did middle- and high-income consumers by at least 4 pounds (table 2).

This surprised me a bit. I find beef rather expensive compared to some alternatives (i.e. cheap processed food). It is far more efficient to eat what the cow eats. In any event, our population is growing and I don't see the cattle population growing with it. I'm not holding my breath waiting for beef to get any cheaper.

US Retail Meat: Lower Chicken, Pork Prices Leverage Beef
Bruce Longo, analyst with Urner Barry's Yellow Sheet, said grocers have featured more of the cheaper chuck and round cuts throughout the summer due to tightened food budgets and concerns about the economy with home foreclosures on the increase. High fuel prices also are a factor. Shoppers have traded down to cheaper items to stretch their food budgets, he said. The additional features and sales have helped prop up wholesale chuck prices.

Well, that's quite the prosperity story. So much for containment.

See Also:
Productivity Miracle

Source Data:
USDA
Factors Affecting U.S.Beef Consumption